If you trade Niskanen and trade/waive Jeffrey, you suddenly have just over $1,770,000 to spend on another third line forward. Is the potential improvement you'd get in that line better for the team than a solid #5 defender? I don't know...perhaps not?

If the pens really do feel Despres is ready to play top-4, than perhaps it's Orpik that gets moved, and suddenly you have just over $3,200,000 to spend on that other third line forward, which is obviously more than enough. Then the questions become, is losing Orpik really palatable given the loss of another tough player in Cooke...and is losing Orpik's stability really worth improving the third line?

And basically you run your top pairing, and then you've got a 2A 2B system, even-strength minutes wise, with the other two, with Despres and the X getting less special teams minutes than Tang and Scuds.

I think Jeffrey is fine for the 3rd line. He's a well-rounded player who plays a 200 ft game, used to playing the PK, good at faceoffs, can score timely goals. No he's not going to bang bodies around, take headshots, or fly up the ice and shoot the puck into the goalie's chest protector, but I'd rather have a more balanced 3rd line.

pcm wrote:I think Jeffrey is fine for the 3rd line. He's a well-rounded player who plays a 200 ft game, used to playing the PK, good at faceoffs, can score timely goals. No he's not going to bang bodies around, take headshots, or fly up the ice and shoot the puck into the goalie's chest protector, but I'd rather have a more balanced 3rd line.

Jeffrey is fine for the 3rd line, but not opposite D'Agostini. We desperately need a gritty player on that line, especially given Sutter's lack of physicality.

I'd rather trade Niskanen and somehow move Glass in order to bring in a guy for the 3rd line LW. I would not be opposed to Brendan Morrow at 1.5m at that spot.

Orpik and Fleury were never options, unless one of them expressed interest in leaving.

Niskanen, Glass, Jokinen. Those are your options.

Trading Jokinen would put yet another hole in the top-9 somewhere. Trading Glass would be pointless. Wouldn't create much room, and his replacement wouldn't make a whole lot less, which puts you back in the same situation.

It certainly seems Fleury isn't an option anymore...not since his meeting with Shero at the end of the season...plus look at the massive hole that would create!

Niskanen is the only one that I'd want them to consider moving and really I'd rather they just get Jeffrey and Bortuzzo signed and stand pat at this point. I don't know where either of those two are at with regards to being moved to and from the AHL though.

Idoit40fans wrote:Niskanen is the only one that I'd want them to consider moving and really I'd rather they just get Jeffrey and Bortuzzo signed and stand pat at this point. I don't know where either of those two are at with regards to being moved to and from the AHL though.

The probelm with that though is that the pens are only $100,000 under the cap right now...without Jeffrey or Bortuzzo signed. I.e, only 12 forwards. Just signing one of them to league min puts the pens $400,000 over the cap with only a 22-man roster.

Also, if we do stand pat and simply go with only 12F, D'Agostini will be forced into playing 3rd line all year...even if he isn't fit at all to do so.